Tag: Death

Frenchman André Turcat, test pilot for the Concorde supersonic airliner, passed away on January 4, 2016. Born in 1921, he graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique in 1940, joined the Free French Air Force in the final years of the war, was a doctor in literature, a Christian art history teacher, author and founder of the …

Group Captain Allan Wright, one of the last three aces of the Battle of Britain passed away on 16 September aged 95. After the war, he remained in the Royal Air Force, retiring in 1967. Read his complete biography from The Telegraph

The latest information provided by Sussex police services concerning the tragic crash that took place on Saturday is that it is “highly probable that eleven people were killed” and that the final figure could be as high as 20. Fifty-one year old pilot Andy Hill was pulled from the wreckage of the aircraft and is …

A Hawker Hunter crashed this afternoon during a display at the Shoreham Airshow in southern England. The aircraft fell near a road, and several cars were caught in the blast. The first reports indicate seven people were killed, with another four seriously wounded who were evacuated and some fifteen people presenting minor wounds which were treated …

Squadron Leader John Leslie “Les” Munro, CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC, JP, the last surviving pilot of the “Dambuster raid”, passed away on 4 August 2015 in New Zealand, aged 96. Munro was born in 1919 and joined the RNZAF in 1941. He made a first tour of operations with No 97 Squadron flying the Manchester …

Another accident occured yesterday in Great-Britain, with more tragic consequences. Kevin Whyman was killed in the crash of Folland Gnat XR538 he was demonstrating at the Carfest North show in Cheshire in the United-Kingdom. Aged 39, Whyman was married and had a young daughter. He was a city worker and Cambridge University graduate, and one …

Jean Delemontez passed away on 7 July 2015 aged 97. He was a French air force mechanic during the Battle of France, working on the Morane-Saulnier MS.406. After the war, he went to work with his father-in-law Edouard Joly. The first Jodel (JOly et DELemontez) aircraft flew in 1948: the D-9 “Bébé Jodel” (Baby Jodel). …

Retired Lt. Col. Robert Hite, one of the last surviving Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, died at his home in Nashville, Tenn., on March 29, aged 95. Hite was the co-pilot on plane #16, dubbed “Bat Out of Hell,” during the April 18, 1942 mission to bomb Japan. Hite was captured by the Japanese in China following …

Lieutenant Colonel Dean Hess, who died on March 2, 2015 aged 97, was a Disciples of Christ Church minister who enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack and flew 63 combat missions on the P-47 Thunderbolt during World War II. He was recalled to active duty in 1948 and saw further action during the Korean War. …

Squadron Leader Harvey Sweetman, who has died aged 93, was one of the most successful fighter pilots against the V-1 flying bomb, accounting for 11 of them during the autumn of 1944. Read his obituary on The Telegraph.

Squadron Leader Jack Storey, who has died aged 99, accounted for eight Japanese aircraft during the Burma campaign, making him its second most successful Commonwealth fighter pilot. Read his obituary from the Telegraph

Edward J. Saylor, the engineer of the 15th aircrew that participated in the famous 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan, passed away at his home on January 28, 2015. His crew bombed targets in Kobe and had to ditch its aircraft near the Chinese coast after the raid. Saylor stayed with the Air Force …

Gerald ‘Jerry’ Billing, considered one of the greatest Spitfire demonstration pilots to fly in the North American air show circuit passed away peacefully January 9th. A veteran of World War II he served 2 tours with over 250 combat sorties and stayed in the RCAF until 1964 becoming a member of Canada’s first jet demonstration …

Squadron Leader John Rowland, who has died aged 94, was awarded the DFC twice in three days in 1943; later, on completion of 50 bombing operations, he received the DSO. Read his obituary on The Telegraph.

Lovell Steward (25 February 1917 – 17 December 2014) was a member of the famed “Tuskegee Airmen” during World War II, and flew 143 combat missions in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in 1944 in the P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk and P-51 Mustang. After his military discharge in 1946, he returned to Los Angeles with …